top of page

Sri Lanka & Paddle4Relief

For over a decade Tim split his time between surfing the winter waves of North Devon then escaping to the east coast of Sri Lanka during the frenetic UK summers. The beautiful island of Sri Lanka, with its stunning breaks and smiling, open-hearted people, fast captured Tim’s heart and quickly it became his adopted second home.

 

In 2004, when the devastation of the tsunami hit Sri Lankan shores, Tim was one of the first to fly out to offer his support as an independent aid worker. His passion helped re-build the community he held so dear, as he set about organising emergency operations, obtaining medical supplies, distributing food aid and reconnecting electricity and power supplies. Back home in North Devon, Tim founded Paddle4Relief, a non registered charity set up with the sole purpose of raising funds to help the stricken Sri Lankan communities. Together with a group of willing UK volunteers, Tim organised a plethora of fundraising activities, paddle outs, music concerts and activities which regularly raised over £5,000 a year. This went directly out to Sri Lanka to help rebuild the lives of the forgotten victims of the tsunami whose lives had been so completely devastated.

​Back in Sri Lanka, Tim built homes, dug wells and visited schools with provisions. It wasn’t just Sri Lanka’s infrastructure that needed help, it was, in many cases, the souls of her people. The tsunami had left many suffering from deep routed anxiety, a severe fear of the sea and life threatening post traumatic stress. Tim’s decision to retrain as a psychiat- ric nurse suddenly became startlingly fortuitous and he set about offering PTSD therapy programmes and reaching out to schools to offer aid. What’s more, through his own life experience, Tim recognised how surfing could help the physical and mental health of others so with great determination and vigour he created and developed the Arugam Bay Surf Club. He later became instrumental in the creation of the Surfing Federation Sri Lanka along with the inspirational, Peter Rob-O.

​

Tim still has a house over in A Bay and his adopted Sri Lankan family await his post lockdown return with anticipation. Those Indian Ocean tides are a-calling.... 

bottom of page